The Name of the Game
by Mystery-Girl-80
Summary: Ally is stuck writing a song and needs some help with inspiration. Unfortunately for her, her inspiration is avoiding her.
1. Chapter 1

Her song book was open at a random page. It was covered in doodles of flowers, stars and other random things. A few lyrics graced the page.

_I've seen you twice, in a short time_  
_Only a week since we started_  
_It seems to me, for every time_  
_I'm getting more open-hearted_

Ally got stuck after that. She liked where she was going with the song, it was completely different to what she normally wrote, but she had some kind of inspiration. A smile tugged at her lips as she remembered what had happened the past week.

_"Ally, come on we need to work on this project."_  
_"Austin, I'm finishing up in the store. Can you please be patient for once?!"_  
_"Aaaaaalllllyyyyyy."_  
_"Fine. Go up to the practise room and I'll close up."_  
_"YAY! Thank you Ally!" That earned her a quick hug. She shook her head as she moved over to the doors and turned the sign round to read "closed". She made sure the doors were locked and made her way up to the practise room. _

_The scene that awaited her was a rather dishevelled looking Austin and a pile of paper in the middle of the room._  
_"Do I dare ask what happened here?" She tried to sound annoyed, but the sight amused her too much for it to last long._  
_"Well, I was trying to write you a song so that I could impress you but they were all really terrible."_  
_"Austin," she sighed. "We're meant to be doing a project, not song-writing."_  
_"Sorry," Austin mumbled._

The project that Austin was so keen to get started on involved social media. Ally wasn't the best at technical things (books were more up her alley) so he wanted to teach her the basics before they went into building a website. She knew it was a fruitless effort, but Austin was determined. She wrote more down.

_I was an impossible case_  
_No-one ever could reach me_  
_But I think I can see in your face_  
_There's a lot you can teach me_  
_So I wanna know_

She chewed on the end of the pencil, before drawing it away from her mouth, realising how unsanitary that was. She shuddered slightly before looking down at the off-yellow pages of her sacred book. Her mom had given it to her before she left for Africa. She missed her mom a lot and could really have done with some advice. Austin had been acting weird after the song-writing incident and her dad wouldn't be of any help, even if he did try.

_"Trish," Ally dragged out the i._  
_"What is it?" Her short friend barked at her. Said friend was currently flicking through a new magazine and didn't want to be interrupted._  
_"Why has Austin been avoiding me today?"_  
_"Seriously Ally? I thought you were just friends now."_  
_"Well, yeah. We are. But I just wondered."_  
_"I'm sure he's just going through his guy time of the month." Trish said that with so much seriousness that Ally burst into laughter, which earned her a quick glare._  
_"Okay, okay. Maybe it is just an off day for him."_  
_"Mhm, now can we please go back to silence?" Ally complied and flicked through her songbook, finding a new page to write a diary entry._

_"Hey, Austin!"_  
_"Oh, uh, hey Ally." Austin seemed distant still, which concerned Ally. The last time he was this bad was when they didn't have any pancake mix at his house._  
_"Are you okay?"_  
_"I'll be alright. I gotta run, bye Als." Ally was left in shock. She couldn't believe what just happened, he'd never blown her off like that before. She tried to compose herself, so as not to cry at his disappearing form._

Ally blinked and wrote down some new lyrics that came to mind.

_What's the name of the game?_  
_Does it mean anything to you?_  
_What's the name of the game?_  
_Can you feel it the way I do?_  
_Tell me please, 'cause I have to know_  
_I'm a bashful child, beginning to grow_

_And you make me talk_  
_And you make me feel_  
_And you make me show_  
_What I'm trying to conceal_  
_If I trust in you, would you let me down?_  
_Would you laugh at me, if I said I care for you?_  
_Could you feel the same way too?_  
_I wanna know_

_The name of the game_

Some of the lyrics weren't relatable to her situation, but she never used the songs just for her. Not anymore. They were for her audience, which she only achieved with the help of a certain someone. She did wonder if he still felt the same way; it'd been so long since they'd discussed anything that she thought maybe his feelings had changed. As she thought more about his recent behaviour she wrote more and more lyrics.

**A/N:**

**Wow, hey guys! I haven't used fanfiction in a while and I used to post (well, one story) in the SWAC section. Now I'm here and thought I'd try my hand at A&amp;A. I hope this will do for my first story, I don't know whether I'll continue this or not, so if you guys are intrigued by it just leave me a review! I always have really cool ideas and then when I get to writing it the personalities of the characters immediately go out of my head, so I hope this isn't too bad!**

**Anyway, I hope this is good enough, maybe I'll post some more if the interest is there!**


	2. Chapter 2

Austin tossed and turned. Him and Dez had had a lengthy talk that evening about his growing feelings for Ally. What was he saying, he'd always had feelings for her, they'd never stopped. He groaned in frustration and hit his pillow. He didn't know what had gotten into him, ever since he'd slipped that he was writing Ally a song, he'd been kicking himself. Ally didn't need to know that, especially as they'd been doing so well as friends. With one final turn he fell into a disturbed sleep.

When he awoke the sun was shining in his face, he grumbled and flopped out of bed. After a quick shower he went downstairs and saw his mom making breakfast.  
"Austin, you seem a little down lately. Are you alright?" concern was written over her face as she turned over the bacon she was cooking.  
"I'm fine. Just tired."  
"Austin, I can see through that. Have you and Ally had an argument?"  
"No, mom. We're fine," He spoke through gritted teeth which made Mimi shake her head.  
"Tell me the truth." It was said firmly and Austin knew there was no arguing with her.  
"I'm just confused, that's all," He shook his head and continued, "I want to go back to being more than friends. But it's hard, ya know?"  
Mimi nodded in response and said, "Come on, eat up. You want to be good for school."

He rushed through breakfast and made the short walk to school. He met up with Dez on the way and they walked in silence. Dez could see his best friend's internal battle, but left him to it. He knew Austin would come to sense, he just hoped it would be soon.  
"Hey, Dez?" Austin broke the silence. Dez turned to look at his friend and waited for the question. "Do you think I should I should get Ally tickets for a concert?"  
"Well Austin," Dez thought for a minute, which he didn't normally do, but in occasions of advice, he'd turn into _The Love Whisperer_. "I think you should just talk to her, buddy. Nothing special, just talk. Like you used to do."  
"But Deeezzzzz," Austin whined. "You know I screwed up the other day!"  
"You didn't screw up," Dez rolled his eyes. "You simply disobeyed the laws of _The Love Whisperer_. If you're gonna write Ally a song, you don't tell her. Duh."  
"Good point," Austin nodded to himself and smiled. "I'll talk to her. Thanks dude!"  
"See? _The Love Whisperer_ is always right."  
"Stop saying that." Austin shifted his backpack and continued walking. Dez was talking about the turtle he'd rescued (which he'd named Jimmy, by the way. He was trying to get on Jimmy Starr's good side).

As they approached the school, Austin saw the small brunette girl. He walked up to her and flashed her a smile.  
"Hey, Als!"  
"Uh, hey to you too?" Austin frowned at her confused look.  
"What's up?"  
"Nothing, just getting ready for class," Ally replied cautiously. "What about you?"  
"I'm good, thanks!"  
"Austin, you've been acting weird. Are you sure you're okay? No need to, I don't know, go to the nurse or something?" Ally still wasn't responding how Austin had imagined she would, so he thought he should apologise or hug her. Either could work.  
"Ally, I'm sorry for not talking to you. I just had something on my mind, that's all!" He hugged her, which she returned.  
"Good, I was worried about you. But you couldn't at least tell me that?"  
"Nope, sorry. Anyway, I was wondering if you wanted to hang out after school?"  
"Um, sure. As long as you promise not to show me another Zaliens movie."  
"You don't like Zaliens?!" She shook her head in response and laughed.  
"No, I still don't like Zaliens," She grabbed her books out of her locker and held them close to her chest. "I gotta go to go class now, see you later Austin!" She smiled and walked off in the direction of her first class, leaving a stupid smile on Austin's face.  
"Dude, you got it bad." Dez said.  
"I know," Austin sighed. "I know." 

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**A/N:**

**A slightly shorter chapter, sorry about that! But due to popular demand (thanks for the reviews guys!) I thought I'd whip out a new chapter. :) I'm quite enjoying writing this, although I don't know how long it will be. Maybe 10 chapters max, but who knows. I hope you liked it!**


	3. Chapter 3

The school day seemed to fly by, so when the final bell rang, Ally made her way back to her locker to find Austin leaning on it. She politely asked him to move and sorted out her books to put away.  
"So, Als, I was wondering what you wanted to do?" Austin took his hands out of his pockets and rested them on the locker next to Ally's.  
"I thought you had a plan, seeing as though you were so eager to hang out with me." She laughed and shut the locker door. She began to walk away so Austin followed her out of the school.  
"Oh, yeah, right. Well, we could write some songs?" Austin sounded hopeful, which Ally thought was cute.  
"I have one I'd like to show you, actually. I think you might like it."  
"Oh cool! Do you have any music for it yet?" He always loved doing the music part of song-writing, as the lyrics never really came to him naturally, so Ally knew he was the best one to ask.  
"Not yet, I was hoping you'd be able to. I think it's more up your street anyway." She smiled as she saw Austin's big grin and they continued walking.

Once they reached Sonic Boom, they made their way to the practise room and sat down at the piano. Ally reached for her song book and flicked to the page that held the lyrics she'd been writing. She took a deep breath and put it on the stand.  
"So, what's this song about?" Austin asked, as he skimmed through the few lyrics Ally had written.  
"Games, really," Ally replied. "Being in love and lost." She shuffled on the stool and raised her hands to try out a few chords.  
"Oh, okay," Austin said. Ally didn't notice the way he'd stiffened at her answered, but he'd shrugged it off as quickly as he could. "It doesn't sound like a sad song, judging by these lyrics. Maybe we could make it really bouncy? Or make it an acoustic duet?"  
"Yeah, that'd make sense. Which would you rather do?" Ally thought if they made it into a happy song, she could get Trish to join in. She was sure she'd be able to persuade Trish easily, as long as it involved some quality shopping time.  
"I don't mind," Austin began to feel nervous. "The acoustic duet would be pretty cool, it's been a long time since we did one." Ally nodded and they began making their music.

After a few hours, Ally was beginning to grow tired, so they decided to end it for the night. They'd made the agreement that Austin would put it onto guitar and they'd decide how to make the duet perfect the next day. Austin had asked whether Ally wanted walking home as it had gotten quite late, but she insisted she'd be fine. As she walked into her house, the scent of pizza wafted towards her. A good day is always made better by pizza, so she went to the kitchen to find her dad staring at the boxes on the kitchen island.  
"Uh dad?" Ally asked. "Are you okay there?"  
"$30 for two pizzas!"  
"Right," Ally shook her head and grabbed the one that she assumed was hers. "It's okay to spend money on food, you know. Besides these pizzas are the best ones."  
"But-But," Her dad flailed his arms. "Okay, okay, stop giving me that look. Let's eat."

When Ally had finished she made her way up to her bedroom and got ready for bed. As she was brushing her hair she decided to text Trish.  
_Hey girl! X  
__**Hey to you too x  
**__So how are you? X  
__**Do you want something? x  
**_Ally laughed at that, Trish could always read her mind.  
_I just wanted to know if you'd spoken to Dez at all today x  
_Pretty much as soon as she'd sent that, Trish called her.  
"Why do you think Dez and I talked?!"  
"Wow, Trish, that was quick of you." laughed Ally. She got into bed, knowing that she was going to need to be comfy.  
"Well?! Why do you?!"  
"Austin was chirpier today. I wondered if you and Dez had meddled."  
"Psh, me and Dez working together?!" Trish's voice rose. _Great,_ Ally thought, _they are up to something._ "As if that'd work!"  
"What did you do?"  
"Nothing!" Ally coughed in response. "Okay, okay fine. We simply had a little chat about you two and then decided that Dez should talk to Austin. That's all. I don't know what Dez said to him or anything, okay?"  
"Riiiight. One more thing," Ally fiddled with her duvet cover. "I showed him the new song I was working on."  
"How did that go?"  
"He liked it, I just don't know if he knew it was about him."  
"Well, did you tell him?"  
"Obviously not."  
"That'd be why then. You know how Austin is," Trish laughed to herself on the other end of the line. "Anyway Ally, just tell him how you feel. You guys did it once before, it can't be that hard." Ally could almost see the roll of Trish's eyes.  
"Okay, thanks Trish."  
"No probs, Ally. See you tomorrow!" With a click, Trish hung up. Ally led down properly in her bed, falling asleep with a smile on her face.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Thanks so much for your reviews guys! We've surpassed the SWAC one, so I appreciate that a lot! :D You guys are so sweet about this story, so I hope I'm doing it justice! I have plans for another story after this, but we'll see how it goes. :)**


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